The Krypton Factor
The Krypton Factor is a British game show produced by Granada Television for broadcast on ITV. The show originally ran from 7 September 1977 to 20 November 1995 and hosted by Gordon Burns.
The Krypton Factor
Jeremy Fox
Gordon Burns (1977–1995)
Penny Smith (1995)
Ross King (Young Krypton)
Ben Shephard (2009–2010)
Charles Foster (uncredited)
United Kingdom
English
18 (Original)
2 (Revival)
2 (Young Krypton)
254 (inc. 21 specials) (Original)
20 (Revival)
21 (Young Krypton)
Granada Studios (1977–1995, 2009)
The London Studios (2010)
30 minutes (inc. adverts)
7 September 1977 –
9 March 2010
Contestants across the United Kingdom and Ireland competed in rounds that tested their physical stamina and mental attributes. The show's title refers to Superman's home planet, Krypton, the title perceiving that the contestants had strong superhuman "powers" for participating in the challenges they were set. From 1986 onwards, the contestants all had their corresponding colours: red, green, yellow, or blue. The points contestants earned through the game were not referred to as their score but as their "Krypton Factor", e.g. "The winner, with a Krypton Factor of 46, is the technical specialist from Birmingham, Caroline White". The 1987 series won the prestigious Premios Ondas – Spanish Television Award for Entertainment.
The show was revived for two series aired in 2009 and 2010, presented by Ben Shephard.[1]
History[edit]
Original series[edit]
The show's first series was shown on Wednesdays, presented by Gordon Burns and ran for eleven weeks, consisting of eight heats, two semi-finals and the final. It was then on Fridays for two years before arriving on Mondays in 1980, where it would be a staple of Monday evening schedules until its 18th and final series in 1995. In the first few series, there were no groups and eight heats, the winner of each advancing to a semi-final. The top two of each semi-final qualified for the Grand Final.
From 1981 to 1985, each series had twelve heats, from which each winner, along with the top four runners-up, progressed to the four semi-finals, the winners of which competed in the Grand Final. In 1986 and 1987, the series was divided into four groups (A, B, C, and D). Each group consisted of three heats, with the winner of each heat and the highest-scoring runner-up of the heats within a group making it to the group final. The winner of each group final would qualify for the grand final. From 1988 to 1995, the series had 13 episodes and only three groups (A, B, and C). The highest-scoring runner-up from the group finals would then go to the Grand Final.
In 2009 and 2010, each series had seven heats and the winners of which, in addition to the highest runner-up of the heats, would qualify for the two semi-finals, the winners of which, in addition to the top two overall runners-up, advanced to the Grand Final. The overall winner of the Grand Final would receive a bronze trophy and would traditionally be titled Superperson of the Year. Unusually and possibly uniquely for the time, until 1993, the series had no advert break in the middle even though it was on ITV in a primetime 7.00 pm slot. This explains why some of the elements (most notably, the time for the quiz) were shortened in later series.
In the 1991 series, for two weeks in a row, contestants Tony Hetherington and Paul Evans won all of the first five rounds in their heats, scoring 50 points; in addition, Hetherington set a record of 62 points. They later met in the same Group Final, where Evans won, and Hetherington qualified as the Scoring Runner-up and went on to win the Grand Final.
1995, the show was heavily revamped, including the addition of co-host Penny Smith. In that series, the intelligence round was dropped, the first round being physical ability, with the rules in each round changing dramatically, except for general knowledge. The show's second half was a "super round", which included a 3D maze, code cracking and a race up Mount Krypton, with accumulated points being exchanged for equipment to assist the contestants with the challenge. While some viewers liked the changes, others felt that scrapping the Intelligence round was a sign of dumbing down and that dramatically changing the format was a mistake.
Revival[edit]
Since its cancellation in 1995, there have been persistent rumours of a revival on the BBC. In April 2005, it was widely reported that the BBC would advance with a revival. However, the source of this story turned out to be a misinterpretation of comments by Wayne Garvie, head of BBC's Entertainment Group (and previously the last producer on The Krypton Factor), naming it as the next "TV gem" that "should" (rather than would) be revived.[2]
On 24 September 2008, Broadcast reported that ITV was expected to commission a new series within weeks.[3] As part of their wider Business Brains campaign, The Sage Group funded the show's return, and in November, it was confirmed that Ben Shephard would host it. The first episode was shown on Thursday, 1 January 2009, at 7.30 pm and ran for ten consecutive weeks.[4] The new series is based on the original five-round format of the show, with every round being "brought bang up-to-date" and featuring "state-of-the-art" technology.[5] However, The Guardian described the rounds as having "irritating bleeping noises and confusing graphics".[1] The series was recorded at Granada Studios in Manchester from 7–10 December 2008.[6] It was filmed in London for the 2010 series, which used a four-round format, as the Intelligence round was dropped again.
Critical reception to the revival was poor, with UKGameshows stating, "It's hard to think of anything they've done differently this time where the change is an improvement"[7] The Guardian ultimately describes it as "like getting back together with an ex (drunkenly, on New Year's Eve). And then sobering up quickly and realising why you split up in the first place."[1] The launch episode of the revival was watched by only half as many viewers as a repeat of Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death.[8]
Special episodes[edit]
The Krypton Factor had several Champion of Champions episodes; the first edition aired on 22 December 1980, featuring the winners of the first four series, which was won by Philip Bradley (1980) and Ian Botham presented the trophy. This was followed by another Champion of Champions edition of the show on 22 July 1985, featuring the winners from the previous four years: John McAllister (1981), John Webley (1982), Chris Topham (1983) and Paul Smith (1984), with McAllister winning the game and trophy. The next Champion of Champions episode aired on 27 March 1989, featuring four-star contestants: Marian Chanter and Alison Heath (1987), David Lee (1988) and Andrew Gillam (1985). Alison Heath won this match.[9]
On 28 March 1988, an International special was broadcast in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand as part of Australia's bi-centennial celebrations. Made in the UK and presented by Gordon Burns, the episode featured Marian Chanter and Alison Heath, winner and runner-up respectively of the UK Krypton Factor Grand Final 1987 and John Cargill and Christopher Connolly, winner and runner-up respectively of the Australia & New Zealand Krypton Factor 1987 final. Alison Heath won the International title, and Fatima Whitbread presented the trophy.
Theme tune[edit]
Four theme tunes for the programme were used during the original series of The Krypton Factor. The first two theme tunes (the first from 1977 to 1982 and the second from 1983 to 1985) were written by Mike Moran. Art of Noise performed The theme tune between 1986 and 1993, perhaps the programme's best-known theme. It was written by band members Anne Dudley and J. J. Jeczalik.[10] The exact version of this theme tune varied in some episodes/series. For example, the drum beats in the music in some episodes/series were more emphasised, as was the synthesizer melody, but generally, it remained the same. Mistakenly referred to as "Beat Box", the track which appeared on their debut album Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise? it is, in fact, an original composition and was reworked as "Crusoe" in 1987. A version of the Art of Noise theme, first heard in 1986, was released on the compilation album Influence in 2010.[10] For the 1995 series, the theme tune was a reworked version of the 1986–93 theme tune but was performed by Dudley.
The music used during the scoring at the end of the Response round in 1988 was "Forgotten Town" by The Christians. In the 1989 series, "Left to My Own Devices" by the Pet Shop Boys was used.
Generally, during the opening title sequence, the contestants were introduced by former Granada Television continuity announcer Charles Foster.
The music to the 2009 revival was created by Paul Farrer. In their review, UKGameshows asked "can anyone actually remember the new theme "tune"?".[7]
Merchandise and commercial representations[edit]
The Krypton Factor had a number of clothing merchandise, including a pair of black trainers bearing the Krypton K on the sides and the tongue. A Krypton Factor sports bag, mug and teatowel were also produced. Although not mentioned on the air, all the contestants were given a Sports bag and some clothing with the Krypton Factor logo as gifts for appearing on the programme.
A computer game version of The Krypton Factor was published by TV Games and released in 1987 for the home computers of the era. A Krypton Factor Quizbook was published in 1989.
ITV released The Krypton Factor interactive DVD board game via their website in 2010, and then again in 2011. The DVD game is hosted by Ben Shephard.
Adrenalin in North Yorkshire markets itself as the home of the obstacle course from the TV series, which offers paying public a chance to take on the Assault course.[11]
Demon Wheelers have developed a team-building event based around the rounds from The Krypton Factor[12] TV series and incorporating an inflatable assault course.
There have also been several Krypton Factor tie-in books published.
Other versions[edit]
The Krypton Factor was later exported to the United States. Two short-lived United States versions of The Krypton Factor aired. In 1981, Dick Clark hosted a 5-week summer series on ABC. In 1990, Willie Aames hosted a syndicated version for children. In 2000, a version hosted by Pat O'Brien and produced by Fox TV was never shown to the public. In 2015, another version in production for Syfy was also never shown to the public.
The New Zealand version of The Krypton Factor ran from 1987 to 1991 on TVNZ and TV2 and was hosted by veteran presenter Dougal Stevenson. There was no Response round in the New Zealand version, and the video clips used for the Observation test were taken from the United Kingdom version. The Physical Ability test was done at Burnham Military Camp, just south of Christchurch. The first season in 1987 consisted of a challenge between Australian and New Zealand contestants, with all of the series hosted in New Zealand and aired on ABC in Australia during that time. The winners of the 1987 series competed against the winners of the 1987 series in the United Kingdom. Reruns of The Krypton Factor were screened on TVNZ 6.
A German version of the show called Krypton Faktor, presented by Jörg Draeger aired in 1991, with 13 episodes shown on Sat.1 before the show was cancelled.